Queering Paradigms IV Conference (Rio/July 25-28, 2012)

Following the success of the three international, interdisciplinary Queering Paradigms conferences held thus far on three continents, the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Applied Linguistics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), the Graduate Program in Social Memory at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO) and the Brazilian Association of Applied Linguistics (ALAB) are proud to announce Queering Paradigms IV, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from the 25th to the 28th of July, 2012.

As in the previous conferences, we use the term 'queer' to refer to an indefinite, borderless domain of non-normative genders, sexualities and bodily practices that is also affiliated with critical analytic approaches, while recognizing that the term does not resonate globally as it emerged from Western experience. 'Queering' thus questions, contrasts, challenges and destabilizes heteronormativity, but is not restricted to it: homo-, class-, religion-, scientific- and academic-normativity are also part of its scope of analysis.

The aim of the conference is thus to analyze the status quo and the future challenges of Queer and LGBTIQ Studies from an ample, inter/multidisciplinary perspective, in order to problematize/destabilize (i.e. to queer) discourses and paradigms. Our intention is to bring together researchers from many countries in an exploration of queer and LGBTIQ social practices, presenting from disciplines as diverse as, but not limited to, anthropology, sociology, language studies, theology, political science, law, social medicine, philosophy, geography and social psychology.

Proposals for Papers and Panels:

Paper and panel proposals are invited on any aspect of Queer or LGBTIQ Studies. They shall be grouped into the following areas:

Proposals for individual papers: These should take the form of abstracts with a minimum of 1500 and a maximum of 3500 characters, followed by three keywords.

Panel proposals: Panels may have between four and six participants, one of whom shall be the organizer. The submission must include a panel rationale of between 1500 and 3500 characters followed by three keywords, as well as four to six paper abstracts of the same length, each also including three keywords. The organizer is responsible for writing the panel rationale, collecting the participants' abstracts, and submitting everything together through our website.

Proposals may be submitted, and papers may be presented, in English, Portuguese or Spanish, but due to the international nature of the conference, the use of English is highly encouraged. Abstracts should be written in the intended language of presentation. For those who use English as a second/foreign language, please note that what matters for our conference is not so-called near-native fluency, but rather the ability to communicate ideas clearly, which may be further enhanced by visual props such as slides. Papers may be single- or co-authored. Potential participants may submit up to two proposals.

The proceedings of this conference will be prepared for peer-reviewed publication in the Queering Paradigms Series, made available by the international academic publishers Peter Lang.

Requests for further information can be sent by email to: queeringparadigms4@gmail.com.